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When Charlotte first became ill, she spent 10 days at St Helier Hospital in London and was discharged on May 31 after being put on a course of antibiotics.

But a month later, during a shopping trip at the end of July, Kelly and Charlotte received a phone call from doctors urging them to return to the hospital because test results had revealed she had encephalitis, which is fatal in 10 per cent of cases.

The condition, which causes over-inflammation of the brain, can cause memory loss and there are around 4,000 cases of encephalitis in the UK each year.

Mum Kelly claims doctors told her Charlotte was just 30 minutes away from slipping into a coma when she was rushed back to hospital.

Charlotte with dad Dean who she didn't recognise at school (Image: Mercury Press)

The teenager missed 20 weeks of school before returning to education last month after being given more than 166 bags of antibiotics via a drip.

And Charlotte, who also has a sister, five-year-old Emily, had undergone 32 cannulas as well as a lumbar puncture to test for meningitis before she was finally diagnosed with the condition.

Her heart-warming online video which explains how the disease has changed her life has been viewed almost 1,000 times on social media.

Kelly said: "Charlotte wasn't really herself when she came out of hospital so I took her shopping and said to her 'you have to snap out of this'.

"We were just walking around the shopping centre when we got the call saying that the test results had come back and we had to bring her in straight away.

"The doctors told us that if it had been another 30 minutes then she would have been in a coma.

"It was such a shock that it could happen so quickly and I had never even heard of encephalitis.

"She had just started coming out of her shell at school before she got ill and she's been quiet and anxious ever since.

"She hasn't really wanted to talk about it much while her memory is slowly coming back.

"Hospital gets boring especially when I started to feel better and just wanted to go home, but I was on three IV antibiotic drips-a-day so had to stay in, I was allowed day leave occasionally which was nice but the thought of going back in filled me with dread.

"I will try to raise more awareness the stronger and more confident I get."

Dr Ava Easton, chief executive of The Encephalitis Society, said: "Having survivors such as Charlotte come forward to show the human side of this 'hidden disability' can only be a good thing for informing the public about encephalitis.

"We have a long way to go to make the public and some health professionals aware of a condition which affects more people than Motor Neurone Disease and some forms of meningitis and yet remains less well known.

"The sad fact is that not many people have heard of encephalitis unless it has happened to them, a family member or friend. We want to change that and with the help of Charlotte and others who bravely share their stories, we are confident we will."

Encephalitis facts

Encephalitis is inflammation of the brain and is caused either by an infection invading the brain (infectious) or through the immune system attacking the brain in error (post-infectious / autoimmune encephalitis).

Mortality rates are high and in those who survive many are left with an acquired brain injury, the degree and severity of which will vary. Their difficulties may include cognitive, physical, emotional, behavioural, or psycho-social consequences.

Infectious Encephalitis frequently begins with a 'flu-like illness' or headache. Typically more serious symptoms follow hours to days later.

The most serious finding is an alteration in level of consciousness. This can range from mild confusion or drowsiness, to loss of consciousness, seizures and coma.

Other symptoms include a high temperature, seizures (fits), aversion to bright lights, inability to speak or control movement, sensory changes, neck stiffness, or uncharacteristic behaviour.